Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Search
Search:
'Go Team' investigators probe miracle air crash
AFP - Saturday, January 17
NEW YORK (AFP) - - US investigators on Friday scrutinized the wreckage of the Airbus that crashed in the Hudson River and were to interview the pilot hailed as a hero for saving all 155 passengers and crew.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it dispatched a "Go Team" to New York, where the US Airways Airbus A-320 was still tethered to a Manhattan dock in the freezing Hudson.
The 20-member team led by senior air safety investigator Robert Benzon was to recover the black box flight recorder and examine the engines for evidence that a collision with birds may have triggered the crash, NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said.
It was not yet clear when the plane will be taken out of the water, he said.
Investigators also "intend today" to interview the pilot and flight crew, he said.
Praise poured in for the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, who is credited with conducting a miraculously soft landing after both engines lost power.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg awarded Sullenberger, and the rest of the plane's crew, the keys to the city. "We saw a lot of heroism in the Hudson yesterday," he said.
New York governor Governor David Paterson hailed the near-disaster as the "Miracle on the Hudson."
Following an extraordinarily skillful landing on the Hudson, all 150 passengers and five crew on US Airways flight 1549 were able to step out into rescue boats, few of them even suffering injuries.
The jet had just taken off from New York's La Guardia airport for Charlotte in North Carolina when both engines stopped -- apparently after a collision with birds, possibly geese, according to preliminary reports.
Unable to return to La Guardia, or reach any other airport, the captain decided to ditch.
Seconds after the crash, frantic passengers scrambled out onto the airplane wings, chilly river water lapping at their feet. Ferryboats steamed to the rescue as the aircraft slipped under the water.
Incredibly, the most serious injury appeared to be one broken leg, Bloomberg said.
Passenger Jeff Kolodjay said that when Sullenberger told passengers to brace for impact, he said the "Hail Mary" prayer.
"We hit the water pretty hard," Kolodjay told Newsday daily newspaper -- hard enough for some people to hit their heads on the ceiling.
But once on the river, the doors opened and passengers headed for the wings as water poured into the jet, Kolodjay said.
Bloomberg said the pilot stayed behind to make sure everyone was safe.
"He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off and tried to verify that there was nobody else onboard."
Aviation experts interviewed in the US media said that landing the plane at that angle was tricky. Had Sullenberger made a mistake the fuselage would likely have cracked and taken on water upon hitting the river, they said.
President George W. Bush also praised the "skill and heroism" of Sullenberger and the other crew.
One passenger, Fred Beretta, said Sullenberger carried out a "phenomenal landing."
Asked if he had a message for the crew, Beretta said: "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope somebody gives you a great big award for your performance."
Sullenberger runs a transport safety consultancy and has clocked up 19,000 hours of flying time in his career as a pilot, according to a biography on his website.
The former US Air Force fighter pilot has served as an instructor and safety chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association. He has also participated in several accident investigations for the NTSB.
John Silcott, a United Airlines pilot with eight years experience of flying the Airbus A320, said Sullenberger's safe landing was "remarkable."
Silcottan, an executive at Expert Aviation Consulting, said the relatively calm waters of the Hudson -- as opposed to the heaving swell faced by a pilot seeking to land a plane on the ocean -- would have assisted Sullenberger.
He added the positioning of the Airbus A320's engines under the wing would have left Sullenberger trying to make the plane land tail first.
"The last thing you want is for the engines, which are under the wing, to dig into the water and push the nose into the water," he said.
Eyewitness Troy Keitt, 46, told AFP he was so surprised to see the crash he was convinced it was part of a movie being filmed.
"No one was panicking," he told AFP, adding that he had been astonished not to hear screams as people lined up on the wings.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: World
Forty held as Lithuanian austerity drive demo turns violentAFP - 2 hours 3 minutes ago
Bush salutes Hudson River pilot who landed planeAP - 2 hours 15 minutes ago
Man imprisoned in upstate NY body-parts caseAP - 2 hours 16 minutes ago
Obama warns about economy, even with stimulusReuters - 2 hours 19 minutes ago
Momentum builds for a self-ruled southern IraqAP - 2 hours 21 minutes ago
Enlarge Photo
Map showing the route of a US Airways flight that crashed into New York's Hudson River.
Most Popular – World
Viewed
Hormone drives sexy women to infidelity, says study
Michelle Obama's ball gown has fashionistas abuzz
Israel hammers Gaza as Hamas offers conditional truce
Microsoft considering 'significant' job cuts: WSJ
JPMorgan chief says worst of the crisis still to come: FT
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular